From the Kane County Young Republicans:
Wednesday, May 22nd, the Kane County Young Republicans will hold a $30 fundraising event at Elgin’s Fox Valley Shooting Range.
Reply
From the Marengo Police:
From the Illinois Policy Institute:
SEIU HCII spends money in other questionable ways
SEIU HCII spent over $1.1 million on airlines, car rentals, other transportation, hotels, catering and restaurants in 2023.
Just under $311,000 of that spending was itemized for purposes such as “conference travel” or “special event.”
And even then, there is no concrete indication what the “special events” were.
The remaining – more than $800,000 – was for generic purposes such as “airlines” or “lodging” – or for no specified purpose at all.
Union members can only guess how or why the union spent more than three-quarters of that money.
Examples of the unspecified spending include the following:
- Nearly $290,000 on restaurants and catering, including over $30,000 to “Connie’s Pizza”
- Nearly $214,000 on hotels
- Over $147,000 to airlines
SEIU HCII members unhappy with the union can opt out of membership and stop paying dues
State and local government workers may not agree with the union’s spending practices, or they may feel the union doesn’t represent them well. Whatever the reason, they don’t have to be union members to keep their jobs.
As former SEIU HCII member Karena Cozad put it, “There’s no benefit to [being in the union.] As far as I’m concerned, union [leaders] seem to be out for themselves.”
By opting out of union membership, workers can stop paying dues to the union yet retain all benefits that are provided in the collective bargaining agreement with their government employer. That includes personal assistants and child care providers who are paid by the state.
For more information on how to opt out, visit LeaveSEIU.com.
From a Friend of McHenry County Blog:
McHenry County’s own Kristina Zahorik Elected to the Democratic National Committee
Illinois has seven “base” DNC members. The Illinois Democratic Party state chair Lisa Hernandez pushed for state legislative leaders Don Harmon and Chris Welch to each automatically get a seat.
The State Central Committee voted by acclimation to allow Hernandez’s request.
Five more would have to be elected and this is the story of how Kristina Zahorik was “elected.”
The five others who nabbed those positions were Robin Kelly (2nd district congresswoman and 2nd district State Central Committeewoman), John Cullerton (former legislative leader and 5th district State Central Committeeman), Dan Hynes (former comptroller), Delia Ramirez (3rd district congresswoman and 3rd district State Central Committeewoman), and Kristina Zahorik (11th district State Central Committeewoman).
Kelly is probably happy about getting the most votes – not just because that itself is impressive but also because JB Pritzker forced her out as chair of the Illinois Democratic Party two years ago when he pressured the SCC to dump her and choose Lisa Hernandez. The implication of not voting Pritzker’s way is that you don’t get money, and maybe Pritzker bankrolls someone to run against you. (Pritzker claimed the state party was doing a bad job at raising funds under Kelly’s leadership – a claim he did not prove.)
Kelly won a tight race for chair of the Illinois Democratic Party two years prior to that in 2020 against JB Pritzker’s preferred candidate Michelle Harris, but Pritzker got his revenge and forced her out in 2022. Kelly had supported Daniel Biss for governor back in the 2018 Democratic primary which JB Pritzker ended up winning.
In other words, there’s a history of Kelly and Pritzker feuding. It must be validating then for Kelly to not just win a DNC seat but also to finish first place.
Whereas Kelly finished first, Zahorik finished in sixth place. Remember that five people were elected in addition to Harmon and Welch. So how did Zahorik get into the top five if she finished in sixth?
The answer is she was a beneficiary of affirmative action.
More on that in a minute, but first a little background on Zahorik.
Zahorik is the former chair of the McHenry County Democratic Party. According to records from the Illinois State Board of Elections, she resigned on January 10, 2024. The committee ID is 1018. Her resignation didn’t get much attention from the media.
During Zahorik’s tenure, the Democratic Party became a serious force in McHenry County politics – although it’s debatable how much of that was due to her as opposed to changing demographics and a general backlash against Trump from suburban women.
Regardless, I would say Zahorik was a more competent leader for the McHenry County Democrats than her predecessor Michael Bissett (husband of former county board member Paula Yensen).
She was far more effective than Patrick Murfin.
At one point, I remember Democrats having only one seat on the county board.
Then within a few years, 1/3 of the members were Democrats! (That number has gone down slightly in the past few years, but Democrats still have a much stronger voice on the county board than they did a decade ago.)
In addition to being chair of the McHenry County Democratic Party, Zahorik was also the chair of the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association.
She resigned on January 5, 2024 according to records from the Illinois State Board of Elections. The committee ID is 393.
This too did not receive much attention from the media.
I do not know why she resigned or why this did not gain attention.
Zahorik’s predecessor on the IDCCA was Doug House, and when he resigned it made headlines.
House, like Zahorik, also resigned from his position as chair of his own county (Rock Island).
He cited family reasons. With Zahorik, it’s unclear why she resigned from her posts as chair of the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association and McHenry County Democratic Party.
Maybe someone else knows and can share.
Zahorik has also been a delegate for Hillary Clinton and an alternate delegate for Joe Biden.
Before moving to McHenry County she worked for U.S. Senator Paul Simon and, after moving to Oakwood Hills, was elected a Trustee for several terms.
Her resume, as far as Democratic politics is concerned, is undeniably impressive.
However, she finished behind Bill “the hooligan” Houlihan who would have been the only downstater selected to be on the DNC.
Houlihan has worked as the State Director for U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and is currently the State Central Committeeman in the 13th district (the worm shaped district that runs from the St. Louis metro area to Champaign).
But it was not to be for Houlihan, for he was born a male.
The party decided they wanted at least 3 of the 7 DNC members to be female. This was to ensure “gender balance.”
Kelly and Ramirez were on, but the ladies were one seat short and the guys already had four seats (Harmon, Welch, Cullerton, and Hynes).
The final spot on the DNC would have to be another female which meant skipping over all male candidates and then finding the female with the next highest number of votes.
They didn’t have to go far down the list because Zahorik finished right behind Houlihan.
Although Houlihan received more votes than Zahorik, Houlihan would be rejected and Zahorik would get the final seat.
That’s how affirmative action works.
Reporter Brenden Moore has a breakdown of the votes, which can be seen above.
A number of law enforcement agencies are ramping up enforcement of seatbelt laws the end of May.
Here is the press release from the Sheriff’s Department:
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office today announced it is stepping up enforcement for the Memorial Day “Click It or Ticket” campaign that will run May 17-28 and reminds motorists to buckle up for safety. “Click It or Ticket” leverages education and enforcement to save lives.
Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer, a popular time for traveling to visit family and friends. Whether you are traveling down the street or across the country, make sure you buckle up every time. Wearing a seat belt can reduce the risk of fatal injury by 45%. Seat belts save lives every day, but they’re only effective if they’re used.
While Illinois currently has a 93% seat belt use compliance rate, unbelted occupants still account for more than half of those killed in motor vehicle crashes. The simple click of a seat belt could save thousands of lives each year.
The “Click It or Ticket” campaign is administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation with federal highway safety funds.
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Other departments include
- Algonuin
- Cary
- Crystal Lake
- Lake in the Hills
From the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District:
On May 15, 2024, at 10:45 AM the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District was dispatched to the area of Dean Street and Gayle Drive in unincorporated Woodstock for a reported crash with entrapment. Initial reports indicated a single-vehicle rollover near the intersection, with one patient entrapped and a second patient ejected.
Firefighters arrived on scene within 4 1/2 minutes and observed a single-vehicle rollover crash with heavy damage.
One patient was on the ground receiving bystander CPR, while a second patient was still entrapped in their vehicle.
Paramedics quickly began lifesaving measures on an adult female patient who was ejected.
Crews were able to successfully resuscitate the pulseless patient who had received CPR.
Firefighters simultaneously extricated an adult female patient from the heavily damaged vehicle.
Within 7 minutes, the patient had been safely extricated and was transferred to an awaiting ambulance.
Due to the life-threatening injuries of both patients, two medical helicopters were requested.
LifeNet helicopter landed at the scene and airlifted one patient to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
The second patient was transported by Woodstock ambulance to the helipad at Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital.
That patient was subsequently airlifted by REACT helicopter to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
At time of transport, both patients were listed in critical condition.
No other injuries were reported.
Dean Street between Route 176 and Lucas Road remains closed at the time of this email.
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From the Sheriff’s Department:
A 22-year-old Woodstock woman and a 29-year-old Woodstock woman were injured following a single vehicle crash on Dean Street, near the intersection of Gayle Drive, in unincorporated Woodstock.
On Wednesday May 15, 2024, at 10:45 a.m., members of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, Lakewood Police Department, Woodstock Fire Department, and Woodstock Police Department responded to a crash involving one vehicle which resulted in injuries to the driver and passenger of the vehicle.
Preliminary investigation indicates that the 2003 Toyota Corolla was traveling southbound on Dean Street.
North of the intersection with Gayle Drive, the Corolla exited the left side of the roadway and re-entered the roadway crossing over into the northbound lane of travel.
The Corolla exited the roadway to the west and crossed over Gayle Drive as it continued southbound.
The Corolla entered a yard at the southwest corner of the intersection, rolled over, struck a tree. and came to rest on its top.
The passenger was ejected, and the driver had to be extricated from the Corolla.
The driver was flown by LifeNet from the scene to Condell Medical Center in Libertyville and is listed in serious condition.
The passenger was taken by ambulance to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in Huntley and later flown by REACT to Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
She is listed in critical condition.
The driver was wearing her seatbelt and the passenger was not.
Alcohol and speed are believed to be factors in the crash.
The investigation is ongoing and is being investigated by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Traffic Crash Investigation Unit.
From the U.S. Attorney:
Former Employee of Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia Pleads Guilty to Stealing Masters Golf Tournament Merchandise and Memorabilia
CHICAGO — A former employee of the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia admitted in federal court in Chicago today that he stole millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and memorabilia and sold it to online brokers.
RICHARD BRENDAN GLOBENSKY, 39, of Augusta, Ga., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Chicago to a federal charge of transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce.
The conviction is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman set sentencing for Oct. 29, 2024, at 1:30 p.m.
The guilty plea was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s Art Crime Team. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Franzblau and Brian Hayes.
Globensky admitted in a plea agreement that he repeatedly stole the merchandise and memorabilia from 2009 to 2022 while he was employed by the club as a warehouse assistant.
The merchandise included Masters shirts, hats, flags, watches, and other goods, while the memorabilia included historically significant items such as the Green Jackets won by Arnold Palmer, Gene Sarazen, and Ben Hogan, and documents and letters written and signed by Bobby Jones.
Globensky sold the merchandise to the online broker in Florida for a total of approximately $5.3 million, the plea agreement states.
He sold the historically significant memorabilia to the same broker, as well as to the broker’s associate, for nearly $300,000, the plea agreement states.
The brokers later re-sold the stolen merchandise and memorabilia, often at significant markups from the amounts paid to Globensky.
At least one of the stolen items was purchased by a collector in Chicago.
From Doug Ibendahl comes this argument for direct election of State Central Committeemen and women.
I believe the most important part is at the very bottom of his piece. I have put it in boldface tyupe.
Obliterating the last remaining lie of the direct election opponents
“You people wouldn’t always be resorting to perverting Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment if you paid attention to the actual 10.”— Me
Defenders of a failed status-quo whined for years that we couldn’t allow Republican primary voters to have a vote again for the Illinois GOP’s governing board because we would get Democrats on our state central committee.
Of course this was always just a manufactured lie. And the hacks who parroted that phony talking point could never explain how that would ever realistically happen.
Further, the Illinois GOP had direct elections for the members of the state central committee prior to 1986 (the same voting right every Illinois Democrat STILL enjoys in their state party) and there is absolutely zero evidence Democrat infiltration was ever an issue for the Illinois GOP when Republican primary voters had a voice.
In truth it’s our cockamamie current system, the one forced down our throats by a handful of old party bosses back in 1986 which actually HAS put Democrats on our state central committee.
But it’s worse than that. Over a quarter of the 17 current members of the state central committee publicly endorsed career left-wing Democrat Richard Irvin for governor in 2022. National Committeeman Richard Porter did too.
That embarrassing fiasco only ended because Republican primary voters DID have a direct vote for that office. Despite his campaign spending a record $50 million, Irvin finished a very distant third in the 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary.
And anyone who thinks Richard Irvin would have done better than Darren Bailey did against Democrat incumbent JB Pritzker in the November general election that year is dreaming. A lot of Republicans would have simply stayed home, and Democrats (who far outnumber Republicans in Illinois) would have simply stuck with the incumbent Democrat who is at least honest enough to keep the ‘D’ by his name.
The point is, we don’t hear the “we have to keep Republican voters disenfranchised in their own party or we’ll get Democrats” nonsense anymore.
It would appear that even the most craven party pooh-bahs recognize that lie won’t fly anymore – not after a sizeable chunk of the current state central committee enthusiastically welcomed a career Democrat to utilize the top line on the Republican ballot to seek the highest state office.
The only remaining “argument” I hear now from purported Republicans who apparently hate the idea of Republicans voting, is along the lines of: “Our current system rewards the precinct committeepersons who do all the work.”
That’s absolute hogwash. It’s just another blatant lie.
In truth, our current system doesn’t reward precinct committeepersons, it makes a mockery of those volunteers.
A simple example will illustrate.
Let’s say you have two candidates running for state central committeeperson in a particular congressional district. Those picks are made every four years. And let’s say our hypothetical congressional district covers 12 counties.
When Republican party bosses robbed our vote in 1986, they created a new system for the Republican party only. GOP state central committeepersons would no longer be directly elected by Republican primary voters every four years.
Instead, they tacked the selection process for state central committee members onto the county conventions which every county GOP organization was already holding every two years where county parties choose their county party officials.
So each county GOP, in all 102 Illinois counties, holds a county GOP convention every two years on the same night, 30 days after the Primary. But there is a pick for state central committeepersons at those county conventions only every four years.
At first glance, that might seem like a reasonable system.
The county conventions are after all fine and logical for COUNTY party operations. Precinct committeepersons (PCs) are, and have always been, directly elected by Republican primary voters. Those directly elected PCs then comprise the county party central committee. And that county central committee assembles every two years at the county convention to elect a county chair and other county party officers.
That’s all fine and proper. That system parallels how every U.S. corporation functions.
The shenanigans only started when state party organizational matters were force-fed into completely separate legal entities, i.e., the county parties.
Under our current system, Republican primary voters directly elect the members of the county GOP’s central committee. Again, that’s proper, and that’s been the case no doubt since the Republican Party was first formed back in the 1800’s.
But what’s absurd is the fact Republican primary voters today DON’T get a vote for the governing board of the big dog, the state party.
A perfect analogy would be a corporation telling its shareholders, “we’re only going to give you a vote for the board members of one of our small subsidiaries. We don’t trust you with a vote for the board members of the parent company where all of the really big decisions are made.”
Would you buy stock in that company?
Of course you wouldn’t. But that’s the problem when a tiny handful of self-dealing insiders are allowed to co-opt the rational functioning of an organization. Our current system was designed solely by, and solely for, the party bosses.
Actually “design” gives them too much credit. It’s very clear no one really thought through our current system. It was obviously just slapped together by some arrogant party bosses who retaliated in petty fashion when some grassroots Republicans had the nerve to beat boss-backed candidates for state central committee seats. That’s the only reason our vote was stolen – as this piece further explains.
But wait, it gets even worse.
Let’s go back to our original example of two people running in a hypothetical 12 county congressional district for the state central committeeperson spot.
One candidate is already a county GOP chair and he or she is looking for another title, a bigger one at the state party. The other candidate is a dedicated Republican, but not a GOP county chair.
Now let’s say half the precincts in the county where the GOP county chair lives are vacant. In other words, no Republican bothered to run for precinct committeeperson in those precincts. Republican voters in those vacant precincts are therefore not represented by a PC at the county convention. Whether or not the county chair deliberately did his or her best to ensure a high vacancy rate for self-serving reasons is a question only that person could answer.
In any case, that 50 percent vacancy rate in counties across the state is far from uncommon.
So here is what happens on county convention night when the state central committee is also picked. The candidate who is already a GOP county chair is almost guaranteed to win his or her own county by a lot. If the PCs picked the person to be county party chair, they are most likely going to stay with that person for the state central committeeperson pick too.
But let’s be conservative. Let’s say the GOP county chair gets only 75 percent of the weighted vote of the elected PCs from his or her own county who attend the county convention.
What happens next is that county chair now gets an enormous windfall of weighted votes from the vacant precincts. No one was actually at the county convention to cast those votes, but they are cast anyway. The GOP county chair candidate gets 75 percent of them. Again, these are just made-up votes. No representative of the Republican voters in that precinct was there to cast them.
Votes are just being awarded by formula, solely based on how others voted in other parts of the county.
In other words, one candidate for state central committeeperson starts out the “election” with an enormous weighted vote comprised of votes which are in fact not even legitimate votes. And the higher the PC vacancy rate, the higher the number of these made-up votes.
The horrible disincentives to party building inherent in this cockamamie system should be blatantly obvious to anyone.
Now suppose there is a dedicated PC six counties over in the same congressional district. This person worked hard for two years and increased the Republican vote in her precinct substantially, from 80 to 100 votes. This PC proudly shows up at her county party convention ready to cast her 100 weighted votes on behalf of the Republican voters she represents. Oh, and she supports the other candidate running for state central committeeperson.
So what happens? Well on county convention night our hard working PC has her legitimate, but modest, 100 weighted votes for her candidate completely swamped by the enormous number of weighted votes being “cast” from perhaps scores of vacant precincts for the other candidate six counties away, the GOP county chair. Again, those vacant precinct votes are being cast solely by formula. No one was present to legitimately cast them.
And yet this is the corrupt system a few still want to preserve for our Illinois Republican Party. I asked a member of the state central committee last year why the hell vacant precincts are voted when clearly these are just manufactured votes and wholly illegitimate. He responded with some gibberish about how Cook County would have too much power if the fake votes weren’t counted in counties other than Cook.
When the people who want to keep a failed system can’t even intelligently explain it, we have a huge problem.
The fact is our current system not only plays our hardworking PCs for fools, but it is also an insult to democracy itself and the core American principle of one-person, one-vote.
Are there any current members of the state central committee who would not be there today but for this easily rigged system where they benefited from “votes” cast by formula and not by any actual person? Yes, in my humble opinion there are, and in my estimation more than one.
And by the way, none of what I’ve described here is some big secret. The formula for counting the votes of Republicans who aren’t even represented at a county convention is hiding in plain sight. It’s in the Bylaws of the Illinois Republican Party in Article II, Paragraph A.2, which provides in relevant part:
“The ‘weighted vote’ for vacant precincts, and precincts not represented at the county conventions by elected precinct committeemen, shall be allocated to each candidate for State Central Committeeman based on the proportion of weighted votes the candidate(s) received from the elected precinct committeemen present at that county convention.”
Smart PCs know damn good and well it’s all a sham. That’s why PCs are already standing up in support of restoring direct elections.
If you want to actually RESPECT our hardworking PCs, and ALL Republican voters for that matter, we invite you to join the growing list of direct election supporters HERE.
From the Lake in the Hills Police:
From the McHenry Police:
POLICE ACTIVITY – 5000 Block of Prairie Avenue.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an operation in the 5000 block of Prairie Ave.
Please avoid the area.
There is no danger to the public at this time and the situation is contained to a single residence.
From the Circuit Court:
MICHAEL P. ZASADIL TO BE APPOINTED ASSOCIATE JUDGE
(Woodstock, IL) Michael J. Chmiel, Chief Judge, announces the appointment of Michael P. Zasadil as an Associate Judge in the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit.
The appointment will fill the vacancy created through the appointment of Jennifer L. Johnson to a Circuit Judge position.
Mr. Zasadil is an Assistant Public Defender in McHenry County who is assigned to handle Misdemeanor Jury Trials.
He was graduated by the Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with a Bachelor of Arts, and the DePaul College of Law in Chicago, Illinois, with a Juris Doctorate.
He is a Member of the Illinois State, McHenry County, and Chicago Bar Associations.
He was born and raised in McHenry County in Fox River Grove, Illinois, where he continues to live today.
Seventeen attorneys who reside in McHenry County applied to fill the position.
Members of the Illinois State and McHenry County Bar Associations evaluated the applicants.
The Court also received comments from the public.
The Circuit Judges met with the candidates and voted ballots through the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.
The new Associate Judge will take Office on May 31, 2024, when a ceremony to memorialize his appointment will take place in Courtroom 204 of the Michael J. Sullivan Judicial Center at 11:00 a.m.
From a Friend of McHenry County Blog:
“I picked up a NWHerald on Saturday.
“If I remove the pages from the center that are the ads for Meijer, Dollar General, a nursery and the comics that are all printed on different paper so that all that is left is the tabloid newsprint, it is 2.6oz.
“That is 48 pages of content and ads,”
From State Senator Dave Syverson:
Strengthen Penalties for Fleeing, Detention Standards for Domestic Abusers
In response to the growing number of dangerous incidents involving suspects fleeing from police and endangering motorists, Senate Republican lawmakers gathered with local law enforcement representatives to unveil new legislation designed to hold suspects accountable in these situations.
Cosponsored by Senator Syverson, Senate Bill 1807 targets individuals who evade law enforcement. It proposes stricter penalties for those who flee and elude authorities.
Currently, fleeing and eluding are only Class A misdemeanors.
Under the proposal, fleeing and eluding would now be classified as a Class 4 Felony, making it clear that offenders would be held accountable for their actions.
Republican lawmakers also discussed pending legislation that would change the presumption on domestic violence cases with bodily injury to a presumption to detain, sending an unequivocal message that the State of Illinois will hold violent domestic abusers accountable and prevent victims, primarily women and children, from retaliation and further harm.
Lawmakers hope the proposed legislation will receive fair consideration before the General Assembly’s adjournment, which is currently scheduled for May 24.
From the Lake in the Hills Police;
Maybe a reader can decipher the writing.
Paret 3 of the Illinois Policy Institute’s analysis of the Service Empoyees Union’s 2023 spending:
SEIU HCII spent over $3 million on politics in 2023 – a nearly 9% increase from the previous year
SEIU’s LM-2 revealed it spent $3,419,016 on political activities and lobbying in 2023, compared to $3,115,696 in 2022.
That’s a nearly 9% increase.
That spending includes funneling more than $2.6 million to its own political action committee.
SEIU Illinois Council PAC
Contributions: $31,291,235.92
From there, SEIU HCII can spend the money on any political cause it wants.
One example: the political committee of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
According to records with the Illinois State Board of Elections, SEIU HCII and its PAC have contributed more than $1.9 million to the mayor’s political career, even though the union receives dues from and supposedly represents care givers all over the state – not just in Chicago.
For information on how to opt out, visit LeaveSEIU.com.
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More tomorrow.
From the Woodstock Pride Facebook page:
As previously reported on McHenry County Blog on May 2, May 3 and May 4, McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally (R, Crystal Lake) has publicly opposed SB 3136, which sets up a task force for family recovery.
SB 3136, sponsored by state Senator Cristina Castro (D, Elgin), was approved by the Senate last month, and is in the House. The amended SB 3136 has been placed on the calendar on May 7 for 3rd reading and floor vote, which has yet to occur through May 14.
While in the House, both of McHenry County’s resident state representatives, Suzanne Ness (D, Crystal Lake) and Steve Reick (R, Woodstock) have signed on as House co-sponsors.
The bill is being promoted as follows by proponents and includes responses to Kenneally’s criticisms of the legislation in early May:
In Tuesday’s, May 14, edition of the Chicago Tribune, Kenneally’s opposition to SB 3136 was on the front page of the print edition:
Once the House votes on the amended SB 3136, it will be returned to the Senate for concurrence with the House amendment. The bill status can be viewed here.
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Want to comment on this article? No problem. Please email johnlopez1891@gmail.com with your comment and if acceptable will be appended to the end of the article. Commenters with established/email-verified pseudonyms will be posted from the pseudonym. Commenters requesting their real name not be posted will be referred to as “Friend of the Blog”.
From Channel 7 ABC News:
It’s going to be an interesting Democratic Party Convention.
From Wirepoints come this excerpt from the National Review:
The DNC Is Preparing for the Worst in Chicago — Without the Help of the City’s Mayor – Politico
“There’s already a joke going around Democratic strategist circles that the main difference between 2024 and 1968 is that the Chicago mayor this year will be on the side of the protesters, not the cops.”
Brandon Johnson was an organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union and “has yet to fully make the jump from activist to mayor of one of America’s largest cities.”
A Friend of McHenry County Blog notes the following:
The self-described “political animal” Ed Kilgore has moved the goal posts for the Democratic Party.
On April 18, Kilgore wrote a piece to assuage people’s fears of a probable riot near the Democratic National Convention in Chicago later this year. He argued riots will not happen.
More recently, on May 11, Kilgore asked if protests can be avoided by moving the convention online.
He sounds nervous.
From the Woodstock Police:
From The Center Square comes a different angle:
Prison closures could cause hundreds of jobs to leave the Central Illinois
(The Center Square) – “Save Logan Correctional Center” signs are popping up on front lawns in Lincoln as legislators raise concerns about a plan to close and demolish the facility in Logan County.
The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability held a hearing in Springfield Friday.
The topic that the bipartisan group of state legislators reviewed is the proposed closures of Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill and Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln.
Illinois Department of Corrections Acting Director Latoya Hughes said the plan is to close Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln and relocate it in Crest Hill, where two modern facilities will be erected.
About 500 employees in Lincoln would have to transfer.
“The department estimates that if staffing patterns stay consistent with current trends, there will be approximately 850 positions available in our other department facilities within a 90 mile radius of Logan Correctional Center,” said Hughes.
COGFA member state Sen. Sally Turner, R-Beason, questioned whether IDOC and the Illinois Capital Development Board had done their due diligence in balancing the best options. She suggested building the new facility closer to Lincoln or just rehabilitating the Logan Correctional Center.
IDOC officials said the reason they want to move Logan Correctional Center out of Lincoln is because the Will County and Cook County areas have more rehabilitation programs available for inmates and that will ultimately improve the recidivism rate.
“The folks that work at Logan Correctional Center, they have jobs and homes and we can’t expect them to drive 70 miles at $4 a gallon for gas to go and work somewhere else,” said Turner.
Along with demolishing Logan Correctional Center, IDOC plans to demolish Stateville Correctional Center and rebuild a new, modern prison in that same area. The employees at Stateville will have to transfer, temporarily, while CDB plans and executes the construction of the new facility. Hughes said most Stateville employees will be offered jobs at the Northern Reception and Classification Center, which sits on the same property as the current Stateville prison.
“In addition to the Northern Reception and Classification Center, there are three correctional facilities within 65 miles of the Stateville Correctional Center. The department estimates about 1,000 IDOC positions should be available within 65 miles of the Stateville Correctional Center,” said Hughes.
State Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Murrayville, pointed out it’s likely the CDB won’t follow through on the demolition of Logan Correctional Center, despite the department confirming that their funding request includes the demolition.
“They’ve got the Lincoln Development Center that was closed and it is still sitting there and the state has done nothing with it,” said Davidsmeyer. “As we are looking at this [rebuild and demolition project] we’re still neglecting the things we have been neglecting for decades and telling these communities we won’t do that to them. While we’re looking at big projects like this, maybe the state should look at cleaning up other areas as well.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 includes $900 million to demolish and rebuild the correctional centers and the administration estimates the construction costs at $805 million to $935 million.
American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 31 Deputy Director Mike Newman argued IDOC’s proposal to close both prisons is in violation of the State Facilities Closure Act.
“The department simply states that the closure will not significantly disrupt programming [at Stateville],” said Newman. “But the proposal provides no additional explanation on how it will ensure the incarcerated individuals at Stateville will have access to the same educational and vocational opportunities that are available now.”
According to the IDOC’s website, Stateville Correctional Center offers more classes and programming than any other facility in Illinois.
“The department is simply asking the commission for pre-approval well in advance of whenever the department comes up with an actual plan sometime within the next five years. The department’s so-called recommendation states that it is only considering moving Logan Correctional Center from its current location and that no final decision has been made,” said Newman. “What exactly is the commission being asked to approve?”
Every indicator shows that the state’s prisons are becoming increasingly more dangerous for employees and the incarcerated, Newman said, and that relocating individuals in custody will only exacerbate the problems within the state’s prisons.
Newman also said there’s a problem transferring inmates to Decatur because that is a minimum-security, dormitory-style facility and most of the medium-security females at Logan cannot be safely transferred there.
As far as the economic impact to Lincoln if Logan Correctional Center is relocated to Stateville, Newman said there are hundreds of indirect jobs that will be lost.
COGFA, which can only make recommendations about such plans, is scheduling additional meetings about the proposed closures.
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In 1993, State Rep. Dan Rutherford in whose district both Stateville and Dwight were located took freshman State Reps on touirs. Stateville hosted men; Dwight women.
As I walked past him in the Statton Building the next morninig, I said, “If I ever go to prison, I want to go as a woman.”
Dan’s reply, “Don’t worry. You will be.”